The present invention relates to a feeding system for product groups to a conveyor for their packaging.
At present, the packaging of products is performed by the process of feeding the single products on a pusher tug conveyor and packaging said products into a plastic film or the like, which is sealed so as to realise the final package.
It is thus possible to have a relatively quick product feeding and afterwards, a packaging of the single products fed in a succession into a tubular of the film that forms and holds such products. Then, directly in line, the product and/or products are longitudinally transversally sealed at both ends into the tubular-shaped film.
If groups of products must be packaged, they must be formed into groups and loaded on the pusher tug conveyor.
In the first place, this determines a slowing of the packaging operations.
In the second place, as it is evident, with this procedure it is not possible to package more superimposed products, or in any case it is particularly difficult to package products arranged in groups.
In fact, at present it is necessary to interface equipment, machines or devices that have different motion laws; for example, an intermittent or irregular motion machine with one or more continuous motion machines, and vice versa.
The following example is illustrated to better understand the technical problems relating to this field, for the purpose of concretely describing the general problem.
Let us suppose to have to package food products shaped as bars, such as snacks or the like, in groups of product on two layers with the addition, or not, of a stiff support, inserting them into a flowpack.
This type of package is increasingly spreading due to the considerable saving obtainable with respect to the package consisting of a commonly used cardboard box. In order to do so, the products coming from the production process or from a machine that provides to a primary packaging, must be collected, sorted and divided into groups.
Once the groups have been formed, they stay for short time needed by a robot arm or the like to take them and lay them down into a box in one more layers.
As a consequence, the machine works discontinuously, and some of its component parts are not used at their allowed speed since they have to slow at the speed of the slowest part. If the same machine or its main part is to be used to wrap the products into the film, the machine that can be used in cascade is a so-called xe2x80x9cflowpackxe2x80x9d, or enveloping machine, which usually works continuously.
Thus, the problem is that of transferring the groups of products from a first machine (a so-called batching machine) to a second machine (a so-called enveloping machine). In general, such operation consists in laying the groups between the crossflights of a continuously moving chain that transports the same groups into a film tunnel that moves at the same or slightly different speed.
Nowadays, such laying operation is carried out manually, or with delicate xe2x80x9csystemsxe2x80x9d that have strong limitations of capability and flexibility towards package and product.
The main purpose of the present invention is that of solving such problem by realising an equipment which should allow such transfer without determining slowing down or operative problems.
Another purpose is that of realising an equipment for feeding product groups to a conveyor for their packaging in an almost automatic manner, thus avoiding any engagement for the personnel in charge.
Another purpose is that of realising an equipment for feeding product groups that should allow adjusting to the continuous advancement speed of the products.
These and other purposes according to the present invention are achieved by realising an equipment for feeding product groups to a conveyor for their packaging, as disclosed in claim 1.
Further features of the invention are illustrated in the following claims.